Picking Up The Pieces
by FFStoryFanGirl09
Summary: What do you do when you can't remember why you are where you are or what happened to you? Well Avery starts by "Picking Up The Pieces"  James/OC
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1 : A Tragedy I Fear, Angel Of Mercy**

_I know I just posted my new GH story this morning but I was really in the mood today and decided to go ahead and start this story as well. I have been wanting to ever since September so I figured late is better then never._

_This story starts on September 21st 2010 One Life To Live storyline wise._

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**Robert's Point of View**

_I can't believe I got fired on my first day. _I thought as I walked through the park near LU. _How am I gonna pay for James' tuition now. _I groaned as I continued to walk. I was busy thinking about how in 5 minutes I go from having a great job and the possibility of getting back together with Langston to now being jobless and having no chance of getting back with Langston when I noticed a figure in the distance laying in the grass. As I got closer to the figure I noticed that it was a person laying on their side. I walked over to the person and noticed that it was young female who had nice curves but she wasn't moving. I put my hand on her shoulder and turned her onto her only to see that her shirt was ripped and she had bruises forming all over her face and chest like someone beat the crap out of her.

"Miss?" I asked trying to wake her up but she didn't move. I checked for a pulse and it was weak but it was there so I pulled my phone out and dialed 9-1-1.

"_What is your emergency?" _I heard the operator on the other end of the phone ask.

"Well I'm in the park near LU and I found a girl unconscious with bruises all over her face and chest. I don't know how long she's been out here or how long she's been unconscious." I explained to the operator.

"_Okay, I have called for an ambulance. Keep talking to her and try to wake her up." _She told me and I hung my phone.

15 minutes later after numerous failed attempts to get her to open her eyes the paramedics arrived.

"Do you know her name?" One of the paramedics asked me and I shook my head.

"No..umm wait." I said seeing a purse near by. I walked over and picked it up. I dug through it and found a wallet that had her driver's license in it.

"Her name is Avery Thompson." I told the paramedics and they nodded. After they put her on the stretcher they started walking back to the ambulance.

"Is it okay if I ride in with her?" I asked the paramedics as we got to the ambulance and they nodded. If I was really the bad guy that Langston, Starr and Cole make me out to be then I wouldn't be making sure that this girl who I don't even know is gonna make it or not. As I sat beside an unconscious Avery I couldn't help but for feel a strange amount of compassion for her, which is weird since I haven't ever felt a connection to someone so quickly. Especially since she hasn't even opened her eyes since I found her. I suddenly found myself reaching over to her and holding her hand. As soon as I did that I saw her stir and then she opened her eyes. She looked around the ambulance like she was looking to see where she was then she looked up at me and that's when I noticed that she had the most beautiful blue eyes and that they an extreme amount of fear in them.

"It's okay. Just try to relax. We are almost to the hospital and they are gonna make sure that you are okay." I told her trying to soothe her as she laid back down and closed her eyes. When we reached the hospital I followed the paramedics as they put Avery on . As I reached the doorway to the hospital I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket.

"Hello?" I answered walking back towards the parking lot.

"Bobby, where are you?" I heard James ask and I sighed.

"I'm at the hospital." I answered.

"Why?" He replied sounding concerned.

"It's a long story. I'm on my back to the apartment, you wanna meet there and I'll tell you?" I asked him.

"Sure." He said and then I hung up and walked back into the hospital and headed straight to the nurses desk.

"Is there any news about Avery Thompson?" I asked the nurse and she shook her head.

"No not yet. The doctors examining her now. You are more then welcome to wait." She answered and I shook my head.

"No that's alright, I'll just come back later." I told her and she smiled at me before going back to what she was doing. I turned around and walked out of the hospital.

**Avery's Point Of View**

I slowly opened my eyes only to be blinded by a very bright light. I tried to sit up but felt a sharp pain in my rib cage and I felt my head start pounding so laid back down. I looked over and saw Marty reading a magazine then saw her look up and see me.

"Hey, you're awake." She stated getting up and walking over to me.

What happened to me?" I asked hoarsely. I watched as she came and sat down in front of me.

"What do you remember?" She asked me and I contemplated for a minute.

"The last thing I remember is going to sleep on Monday night. Why where am I? What day is it?" I asked as I started to get nervous and Marty grabbed my hand to calm me down.

"It's Wednesday and you are in Llainview hospital." She explained to me and I grew more and more confused.

"Why can't I remember anything from the past 2 days?" I asked her becoming more and more nervous. I felt Marty squeeze my hands.

"Let me go get the doctor and he'll explain it." She said then she walked out of my room and I started chewing on my thumb nail nervously. A minute later Marty walked back into my room along with a doctor so I sat up ignoring the pain sharp shooting running through my ribcage.

"Glad to see that you're awake." He stated and I half smiled.

"What happened to me, doc?" I asked him impatiently which made him and Marty each stifle a laugh.

"Well, you were beaten up pretty badly. You're left rib is bruised pretty badly. You have bruised all over your back and abdomen area. Also you're right wrist is sprained." He explained and I nodded understandingly.

"Okay, then why can't I remember anything from the past 2 days?" I asked him.

"You have a concussion from when you hit your head and that can cause memory loss." He explained and I nodded.

"Okay one more question." I stated which made him laugh.

"Alright." He replied.

"When do I get to get out of here?" I asked and both the doctor and Marty laughed.

"Well we wanna keep you here for a couple days just to monitor you and make sure you don't have nor get any internal bleeding." He answered and I groaned.

"Avery, It's just a couple of days." Marty stated and I sighed.

"I know I just hate hospitals." I said and Marty nodded as she squeezed my hands again.

"I know sweetheart." She replied and then she turned to the doctor.

"So is there anything else?" She asked and the doctor shook his head.

"No. I'll come back later and check in." He answered and the both of us nodded as he turned around and walked out of my room.

"How did you know I was here?" I asked Marty as she walked around me and say down in front of my on my bed once again.

"Well earlier when you landed in Llainview you came by my house to drop your stuff off and then you went to Llainview University to register and after about 4 hours when I didn't hear anything from you I called the police and they said that they had gotten a call of the emergency room saying that you had been admitted." She explained to me.

"Wait, where as I found and who found me?" I asked confused and half smiled at me.

"You were found in the park over by Llainview University and you were found by Robert Ford." She answered and I nodded. After a couple of minutes of listening to my own thoughts I saw my room door open and Cole walk through the door.

"Hey AJ, how are you feeling?" He asked as Marty got up from my bed and was quickly replaced by Cole.

"Sore." I stated and he half smiled. Cole then turned to Marty.

"Mom, John just got here but he said I could come her first." He told his mom. She nodded her head and then looked at me.

"Are you ready to talk to the cops?" She asked me and I shrugged.

"I don't know what I'll be able to tell them. I don't remember anything." I explained and she squeezed my shoulder.

"He just needs a statement so just tell him that you don't remember anything." She told me and I nodded. Marty walked over to the door, opened it and told someone to come in. The next second a tall man with black long hair came into my room behind Marty.

"Hi Avery. I'm John. How are you feeling?" He asked and I shrugged.

"I'm okay just really sore but the pain medication is definitely helping." I stated which made John, Marty and Cole laugh.

"Good to know that you haven't lost your sense of humor." Cole stated before squeezing my hand.

"So can you tell me anything about what happened to you?" He asked walking closer to me and I shook my head.

"No. I'm sorry I don't remember anything from the past 2 days." I said looking down at my hands.

"That's okay. The doctor said that you may experience some memory loss. Just thought I would ask." He replied and I sighed.

"I wish I could just tell you what happened. I don't like not knowing why someone would do this to me." I sighed. I moved my legs over the side of my bed and slowly tried to move out of my bed.

"AJ what are you doing?" I heard Cole ask me. I turned to face him.

"I wanna see what I look like." I answered and he got off my bed and came over to my side to help me over to the mirror. I stood looking back at myself through the mirror and I saw bruises along my jaw bone and under both of my eyes. I gently touched my left rib through my nightgown and flinched as soon as I touched it. _Who could've possibly done this to me and then just left me in the park to die? _I questioned myself trying to think of whoever I could've pissed off enough for them to want to do this to me. I looked up at Cole only to see his brown eyes looking back at me with concern written all over his face.

"Are you okay?" He asked softly and I nodded slightly. I slowly made my way back to my bed with Cole's help. When I got comfortable again I looked back over to Marty and John.

"I'm sorry I couldn't be anymore help." I told John and he smiled at me.

"Don't be sorry. It's not your fault you got beaten up." He replied and I half smiled at him before I yawned.

"Well you should get some rest. We'll come back in a couple hours to check in on you." Marty told me and I nodded. Cole stood up and walked over to me and kissed my forehead.

"Glad to know you're not going anywhere anytime soon." He told me smiling which made me smile back at him. He walked over to the and stood next to John as Marty walked up to me and kissed me on the forehead.

"Okay you get me some rest and we're only a phone call away." She said smiling at me and I smiled back at her. I watched as Marty joined John and Cole over by door and they all turned and left my room. I sighed and looked around my room. _My own personal hell for the next couple of days. _I thought to myself as I slid down into a position that was comfortable enough for me to sleep. I haven't been in or anywhere around a hospital since my mom died 6 months ago but now I have no choice but to stay in a hospital for at least a couple of days. I rolled my eyes and then drifted off to sleep.

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	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2 : I Was Enchanted To Meet You **

_Disclaimer : I own nothing but the idea & Avery Thompson. OLTL is owned by Agnes Nixon._

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**Avery's Point Of View**

"Good news. You get to leave today." The doctor told me as he walked into my room.

"Ya." I stated as I clapped happily. _About time since the couple of days that I was supposed to stay her turned into a whole week. _I thought to myself as the doctor did a final check of my face and abdomen area.

"Well your still pretty bruised around your ribcage so just take it easy for the next couple of days. Other then that everything looks good." He explained and I nodded my head slightly.

"I still can't remember anything. Is that normal?" I asked him curiously and he looked up at me.

"Yes that is normal. You may or may not ever remember since you hit you head pretty hard. If you do start to remember it will most likely be in pieces." He explained to me and I nodded my head understandingly before he left me alone. I was getting out of my bed when Marty came into my room.

"I here someone gets to leave the hospital today." She stated happily and I nodded excitedly.

"Yes! Finally!" I exclaimed which made her laugh. She walked over to me and handed me a fresh pair of clothes. I carefully pulled the nightgown off and changed into my clothes then I walked over to the mirror and noticed that the bruises along my jaw bone and around my eyes have almost fully healed.

"How do I look?" I asked turning back around and looking at Marty. She smiled and walked over to me.

"You look beautiful as always." She told me and I smiled at her as she pulled me into a hug.

"Let's go home." She stated as she put her arm around my shoulder and I smiled at her.

"Okay." I told her and we walked out of my room. As we walked by the nurses desk one of the nurses stopped me.

"Hold on Miss Thompson there are a couple of papers I need you to sign before you can leave." The nurse told me and I turned to Marty.

"You go ahead and head home, I'll be there in a little while." I told her and she shook her head.

"No. I don't want you walking around town all alone." She replied adamantly.

"I'll be fine especially since you got me that mace." I told her giggling which made her smile.

"Okay, I'll go home and make sure your room is all ready for you. I also have to inform Hannah about you staying with us." She explained to me and I nodded. I leaned in and gave Marty a hug then I watched her as she walked out of the hospital before I turned back to the nurse. When I got done filling out my last form and took it back to the nurse.

"So that does it. Now you are finally free to leave." She told me and I smiled.

"Actually I was wondering if there was anyway that I could get Robert Ford's address?" I asked the nurse curiously and she looked at me with a confused expression on her face.

"I just wanna thank him in person for what he did for me." I elaborated and she looked around quickly like she was looking to make sure no one was around.

"I'm not supposed to do this but when he came to ask how you were doing right after you were admitted, I could tell he was really concerned." She told me which made me smile. I watched her tap some keys on the computer and then write something down on a piece of paper before sliding it over to me.

"Do you know where this is?" I asked her after looking at the address.

"It's actually just down the street." She replied and I thanked her before walking out of the hospital.

Xxxx

I walked off the elevator and looked around until I found apartment #3E and knocked on the door. A minute later I see the door open and tall, gorgeous man stood in front of me.

"Hi." I stated softly and he smiled at me. _Wow his smile is just as gorgeous as the rest of him._

"Hi." He replied which made me smile. We just there for a minute looking at each other not know what to say next.

"So, this is awkward." I said breaking the silence and he chuckled.

"Ya, a little." He said back chuckling and I chuckled. He motioned for me to come in so I walked through the doorway and into his apartment.

"So, um I'm AJ." I started turning around and looked at him as he slowly approached me.

"Ford." He replied sticking his hand out and I shook it.

"I was gonna come and visit you in the hospital but when I went last Thursday I saw Cole come out of your room and decided not to get into with him." He said sitting down on his couch.

"Oh ya, he told me you two didn't get along." I replied following his lead and sitting down next to him on his couch and he just nodded. Another silence fell over us as we just sat next to each other and didn't say anything.

"So you aware that since you practically saved my life that, that makes you my hero right?" I asked him with a smirk and he chuckled.

"No, I was not aware of that." He answered laughing and I smiled at him.

"Well you are." I stated and he smirked as he looked at me.

"Thank you." I said after a minute.

"You're welcome." He relied and I smiled at him.

"So how are you feeling?" He asked as I shifted positions.

"Good. Just a little sore around my ribcage." I answered pointing at my left side.

"So tell me about yourself, Mr. Ford." I started and he chuckled which made me laugh.

After an hour of talking to Ford I found out that he grew up in a small town in Ohio, he has 2 younger brothers one he recently found out was his brother and the other he grew up with. I also found out that he and his younger brother, James had an abusive childhood and that their mom left them with their dad when they were young. I told him that I grew up in San Diego, that my dad died when I was 9 years old and my mom remarried when I was 14 and how my mom recently died.

"So what you're little orphan, AJ?" He asked me sarcastically and I rolled my eyes smiling.

"Ya, I guess." I answered and we both laughed. A second later I heard the door of his apartment open and we both looked to see who it was. _Wow. That must be James. _I thought to myself as I watched possibly the hottest guy I have ever seen come through the doorway.

"Bobby, I'm ho-" He stopped when he saw that I was in the room. I watched Ford stand up and walk over to who I assumed was his brother.

"James, how was school?" He asked his brother while I smiled at James who smiled back.

"It was okay." He replied obliviously before walking over to me.

"James." He said flirtatiously sticking his hand.

"AJ." I replied smiling and shaking his hand. We are all quiet for a minute before my phone vibrated in my pocket. I pulled it out of my pocket and saw Marty's name flashing.

"Hello." I answered and I heard Mary sigh.

"_Avery. You're okay?"_ She asked and I felt confusion wash over me.

"Ya, why wouldn't I be?" I countered and I heard her chuckle.

"_Well it's been like 3 hours since I left you at the hospital. I thought you were coming straight here after the hospital? Or are you still there?"_ I laughed as she babbled.

"No I'm not at the hospital anymore I just had to make one stop before I came home." _Home it felt weird saying that but Marty wouldn't let me call it anything else. _I thought as I heard Marty exhale deeply.

"_Okay well get here soon, it's about to get dark and I don't want anything else to happen to you." _She said lovingly which made me smile.

"I'm almost done and then I will straight to the house." I told her looking over at Ford and James who sometime between the time I answered the phone and now had found themselves going to the kitchen and are now getting something to drink.

"_Okay, sweetie. Be careful and I love you."_ She replied.

"I will and I love you too." I told her before hanging up. I got up slowly from the couch and walked over to where James and Ford were.

"I should get going." I started and they both smiled at me.

"I'm really glad that you're okay, AJ." Robert replied smiled and I smiled back at him.

"You and me both. All that credit goes to you for saving me." I told him smiling and James looked between the two of us.

"Wait this is the girl that you saved in the park? This is the really hot gir-" He stopped as I laughed and Robert glared at him.

"Sorry." James said looking at me and I shrugged.

"Don't be. I am hot." I stated which made both Ford brothers laugh. I walked over to the door and stopped and turned around before opening the door.

"It was nice to meet, James and thanks again, Ford." I told them smiling and they smiled back at me. I opened the door and as I was walking out I threw one more glance at James who was smiling before turning around and leaving their apartment.

**James' Point Of View**

"Wow." I said as I just stood there looking at the door where moments earlier AJ was standing. As soon as I came into my apartment and saw her I knew there was something very different about her and something that intrigued me the minute I saw her. Her blonde hair pulled back into a high ponytail her blue eyes highlighted by almost healed bruises and a smile that made my heart melt. I guess I was zoning out cause next thing I know Bobby hit me on the arm.

"Ow." I said turning to look at him.

"Don't even think about it." He replied putting his finger in my face. I looked at him and shrugged innocently.

"What are you talking about?" I asked as I grabbed my cup and walked over to the couch.

"You know what I'm talking about. I don't want you going after AJ just because you can't have Starr." He explained sitting down on the couch beside me and I rolled my eyes.

"Why do you care? Do you have the hots for her or something cause I thought you were trying to get Langston back?" I asked him irritated that he would bring Starr up knowing that I'm trying to forget about her.

"I care because the girl has been through enough." He answered before standing up and walking back to the kitchen.

"I mean she wasn't even in town for 12 hours and she was put in the hospital." He continued leaning against the sink.

"So you see her as what, a kindred spirit because of what happened to us?" I asked walking over to Bobby and he nodded.

"You didn't see her in the woods, James. She had bruises all over her face and her clothes were ripped. She just looked so fragile and broken." He finished looking down at the ground.

"I don't plan on messing with her but I mean come on you saw how hot she was how can I not hit on her." I replied smirking. I watched as Bobby looked up at me smiling.

"You wouldn't be a Ford if you didn't." He stated and we both laughed.

"Besides I saw the way you were looking at each other." He started and I looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Don't even try and hide it, James. I saw the way you were gazing at her as she left." He continued and I smiled to myself which didn't go unnoticed by Bobby.

"I don't know what you're talking about." I replied and Bobby elbowed me.

"Yeah right. Just be careful AJ's Cole's best friend." He stated and I rolled my eyes.

"Of course she is." I said before I stomped off into my room and slammed the door.

**Avery's Point Of View**

_Gahhh James is so hot. _I thought to myself as I walked through the front door of my new home.

"Marty?" I shouted closing the front door. I looked around before seeing Marty walk out of the kitchen and into the living room.

"You're home." She stated before walking over to me and hugging me.

"Ya, sorry it took so long." I told her as we pulled out of the hug.

"It's fine. All that matters is that you got home safe and sound." She replied before pulling me towards the kitchen.

"Come on we're making dinner." She said as we walked into the kitchen. I looked over at the stove and saw a girl with dark brown hair stirring something.

"Avery this is Hannah. Hannah this is Avery she will be staying with here from now on."Marty introduced us and we smiled at each other.

"It's nice to meet you, Avery. I've heard a lot about you." Hannah stated coming towards me and sticking her hand out.

"AJ, please. Only Marty calls me Avery and it's nice to meet you too, Hannah. I've also heard a lot about you." I replied shaking her hand. Hannah and Marty went back to making dinner and I walked over to the cabinet and grabbed a cup.

"So what was the stop that you had to do?" Marty asked me curiously.

"I went to thank Robert Ford in person." I answered as I filled my cup up with water and Marty nodded.

"Why would you thank, Robert Ford?" Hannah asked joining the conversation.

"He's the one who found me in the woods and called 911." I answered looking at Hannah.

"Wow, Ford actually thought of someone else for a change." Hannah stated sarcastically as she drained pasta noodles and I raised an eyebrow.

"Ya, Hannah and Robert have history and none of it good." Marty explained and I nodded. We were all quiet for a minute before Marty clapped her hands together.

"Let's eat." She stated happily and both Hannah and I laughed.

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	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3 : This Innocence Is Brilliant, I Hope That It Will Stay.**

_Disclaimer : I own nothing but the idea & Avery Thompson. OLTL is owned by Agnes Nixon._

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**Cole's Point Of View**

"So when do I get to meet this mysterious best friend of yours?" Starr asked coming into the living room carrying Hope.

"Today after school. I was thinking about inviting AJ over for dinner so that your two can get to know each other." I answered taking Hope from Starr and she nodded.

"Sounds good." Starr agreed as she went and got her purse before we walked out of our apartment and she locked the door.

"Daddy loves you, Hope." I stated as I kissed her cheek and turned my attention to my beautiful girlfriend.

"I love you too, Starr." I told her smiling and she smiled back.

"We love you too, Cole." She replied and I smiled before kissing her. As we reached the outside out of the apartment building I handed Hope to Starr and kissed them both before I turned and walked to my car.

10 minutes later I pulled into my mom's driveway and got out of my mom's car. I walked up to the door and knocked on it. I waited on the doorstep for a minute before I saw the door open and Hannah came into view.

"Hi Cole." She greeted smiling as she moved out of the doorway and I walked into the living room.

"Hi Hannah." I replied smiling as I walked over to the couch and sat down.

"AJ, Cole's here!" I heard Hannah yell up the stairs. I watched her as she walked over to the couch and take a seat beside me.

"So how are you?" I asked her as she looked at me.

"I'm okay. Living here with Marty and AJ is definitely helping. That's one best friend you've got in AJ." She replied and I laughed.

"Yea she's definitely something." I stated smiling to myself.

**Avery's Point Of View**

I walked over to the mirror and looked at my reflection one last time. I was really excited that after 9 days my bruises have finally completely healed. _Who knows maybe I'll see James at school._ I thought letting my mind drift to think about the gorgeous guy I met last night. I felt my heart start to race just thinking about him as I took one last look at my outfit and my makeup before I grabbed my purse and walked out of my bedroom. When I got to the bottom of the stairs I saw Cole talking to Hannah in the living and they looked really close, too close. As I got closer I noticed the gaze that Hannah was holding on Cole. _This is not gonna end well. _I thought to myself before I cleared my throat making them both turn their attention to me.

"You ready?" I asked walking over to Cole and he nodded as he stood up.

"Are you gonna be okay here by yourself until Marty gets back?" I asked Hannah glancing down at her.

"Yea, I'll probably just make something to eat and watch some tv until she gets back." Hannah answered and I smiled at her.

"Come on we don't wanna be late." Cole told me and I turned around as we headed towards the door.

xxxx

"So what's going on between you and Hannah?" I asked Cole as we walked from the parking lot towards Llainview University.

"What are you talking about?" He replied as he put his hand out stopping me.

"I saw the way she was looking at you and people who are just friends don't look at each other that way." I answered and I watched as he raised an eyebrow.

"Me and Hannah are just friends. You know that." He replied and I shook my head unconvinced.

"Don't do that. You know I would never cheat on Starr." He continued.

"I know you would never cheat on her physically but didn't you tell me that you felt like you were drifting apart?" I asked him and I watched his eyes move from me to the ground.

"and that could make a girl, like Hannah think she has a shot with you and she will take it. Just be careful." I continued and he looked over at me but didn't say anything all he did was nod his head before starting to walk again. I rolled my eyes and followed him. As we got closer to the school we got closer and closer to the woods where I was found. I stopped abruptly and just starred out into the woods. I felt Cole come up behind me and put his hand on my back.

"Are you okay?" I heard him ask and I just nodded. I felt him start to guide me away from the woods and towards the entrance of LU. We walked through the doors and I immediately saw people walking in every direction and I loved it.

"Okay so I'm gonna go get my schedule from the administrators office but I'll see you later, right?" I asked Cole turning to face him and he nodded.

"Yea, I was actually hoping that you would come over to the apartment later and eat dinner with me, Starr & Hope." He answered and my eyes got big.

"I would love to. I can't wait to meet your 2 favorite girls. Other then me of course." I said as I giggled which made him laugh. Neither one of us saw a pair of blue eyes watching us as I pulled Cole into a hug before we turned and went our separate ways.

**Starr's Point Of View**

_Not again. _I thought to myself as I watched Cole some blonde like 10 feet away from me. _She's probably just in one of his classes. _I thought as I continued the conversation in my head. I watched as they smiled at each other before they started walking down different hallways. I was to wrapped up in my own thoughts I didn't hear Lang walk up behind me.

"Whatcha looking at?" I heard her ask from behind me making me jump.

"Oh my gosh, Lang you scared me." I replied clutching my chest.

"Don't change the subject, what are you staring at?" She asked me again and shook my head dismissively.

"Nothing probably just my mind making me see into something that's not there." I answered and she nodded slowly.

"Are you talking about Cole and that blonde chick?" She asked me and I looked at her.

"Yea, wait you saw them too?" I asked her and she nodded.

"Yea but it didn't look like anything was going on between them." She answered and I rolled my eyes.

"Yea well neither did it with Hannah and you see how that turned out." I replied and she rolled her eyes before linking arms with me.

"Don't think about that just because Hannah turned out to be cook coo for coco puffs doesn't mean that every other girl that Cole comes in contact with will too." She reassured me and I took a deep breath.

"You're right." I agreed as we walked down the hallway to our first class of the day.

**Avery's Point Of View**

I walked out of the administrators office looking down at my schedule without realizing that I was out in the hallway before I collided with something that felt rock solid. I stumbled backwards but a pair of arms caught me before I fell down. I embarrassingly looked up at the owner of the arms tucking my hair behind my ear. The moment my eyes met with those beautiful brown eyes I knew that they were familiar.

"James? Hi." I stated excitedly all he did was smile back at me.

"Hey, AJ" He replied smiling after a minute or two.

"Thanks for the save." I told him and he sheepishly looked down at the ground.

"No problem." He said smiling which made me smile back at him. We fell into a comfortable silence were all we could do was look at each other and smile.

"So how is your morning going?" I asked him after what seemed like forever.

"Better now." He answered shyly and I felt my heart start to race.

"Mine too." I replied truthfully and he smiled.

"Well I should be getting to class." I said before I started walking past him.

"Wait.." He started making me turn around.

"I was wondering if maybe you wanted to have dinner with me tomorrow?" I heard him ask nervously which made me giggle.

"Hmmmm.." I said putting my finger to my chin and acted like I was thinking about it. I saw James look at me with a disappointed look on his face.

"Of course I will go out with you." I stated laughing. I saw James' facial expression go from disappointed to happy and that made me smile.

"There's a condition though." I told him and he raised an eyebrow.

"You have to promise me that you asked me out for you and me and not so you can get back at Cole." I stated and I watched as he walked closer to me closing the little space that was between us.

"I didn't ask you out to get back at Cole. I asked you out because I wanna spend time with you so we can get to know each other." He replied grabbing one of my hands and holding it. I looked down at our intertwined hands as he squeezed my hand in reassurance and I glanced back up into his beautiful brown eyes.

"Okay then it's a date." I told him with a cheeky smile. I reached into my purse and grabbed a pen and a piece of paper before writing the address to Marty's house down along with my phone number.

"Here you go." I handed him the piece of paper. He took the piece of paper and put it in his pocket.

"I'll pick you up at 7 tomorrow night." He said smiling and I smiled at him.

"Sounds good." I replied before I started walking away from him but before I got to far away I glanced back at him one last time just like I did the night before and I saw him standing in the same spot smiling at me. _This is the start of something good. I can feel __it._ I thought to myself as I walked down the hallway smiling to myself.

**James' Point Of View**

_God she is even more beautiful then I remember. _I thought to myself as I watched AJ walked down the hallway. I dug the piece of paper that I put in there just seconds ago and put her number into my phone. When I got her number put in I realized that I was gonna be late for class so I turned around and started running towards the stairs.

**Avery's Point Of View**

My first day at LU just flew by after my encounter with James. I was really excited to meet Starr and Hope that I walked from the campus over to Cole's apartment. When I got to apartment I knocked on the door and I watched as a blonde girl about my height answer the door. I recognized her from the pictures that Cole has sent to me that that's Starr. The look on her face went from curious to annoyed.

"Cole's not here." She stated before she started closing the door.

"I'm not here to see Cole. I'm here to you, Starr." I replied stopping the door from closing with my arm.

"How do you know my name?" She asks curiously. _I guess Cole didn't tell her that I was coming over after school. _I smiled to myself.

"I'm AJ. Cole's best friend." I answered smiling. I saw her expression go from annoyed to confused.

"But you're a girl." She stated and I nodded.

"Yep. My name's actually Avery Joan Thompson but I've always gone by AJ." I explained and I watched as her face got red.

"Oh my gosh. I feel totally embarrassed right now. I just assumed when Cole told me his best friend's name was AJ that you were a boy." She replied and I nodded smiling.

"Don't worry about it. It happens all the time." I told her laughing and she laughed. I watched as she moved from the middle of doorway so that I could walk through which I did.

"Cole wasn't lying." I started and she scrunched her eyebrows together.

"About what?" She asked and I turned around to face her.

"You're beautiful and I bet that baby of yours is just as gorgeous." I replied making her blush.

"Thanks. Hope's actually sleeping right now but she'll get up before we eat dinner and you can meet her." She said and I nodded my head happily.

xxxx

Starr and I spent the next hour getting to know each other and I can totally see why Cole loves her.

"Wow. I mean I knew about a lot of what happened during your relationship but I didn't know everything and can I say that I'm happy that you guys are finally on your way to having your happily ever after." I told Starr and she smiled.

"Thank you." She replied and I smiled at her.

"And I can see why you guys are best friends I mean you've also been through a lot both apart and together and knowing that you always have at least one person on your side no matter what really helps you through those rough times. Believe me I know." She said and I smiled.

"Ya Cole told me about you and your friend, Langston. She's the one who doesn't know what to do about Robert Ford right?" I asked Starr and she nodded.

"Yea, wait how do you know about that?" She asked me and I smiled sheepishly.

"Well it was actually Ford who found me after I got beaten up and rode with me to the hospital." I answered and I saw her eyes get big.

"Wow. Robert Ford a hero. Would've never guessed." She said and I cracked a smile.

"Ya after what Cole told me about him I was surprised too but after I talked to him and got to know him a little better he doesn't seem like a bad guy." I explained to her and she scoffed.

"You've only been here a short time believe me, Robert Ford is nothing but trouble." She warned me and I nodded.

"That reminds me. I wanted to tell you something." I told her and Starr raised an eyebrow intrigued.

"James asked me out earlier and I was just wondering if that's okay with you?" I asked her and she burrowed her eyebrows in confusion.

"Why wouldn't it be okay with me?" She countered and I shrugged.

"I don't know. I just don't want anything to be weird between us because of it." I explained to her and shook her head before she grabbed my hands.

"There will be no weirdness between us. I promise." She assures me and I smile.

"Thank you. We just can't tell Cole." I stated and she nodded understandingly.

"Tell Cole what?" I heard Cole's voice ask from the doorway. We were so wrapped up in our conversation that neither me or Starr heard Cole open the door. Before either one of us could answer we heard Hope start crying in the other room.

"That's my que." Starr stated as she stood up.

"Good luck." She whispered before she walked to her and Cole's bedroom. Cole walked around the living and put the pizza on the kitchen table.

"Tell Cole what?" He repeated and I took a deep breath before getting up off the couch and walking over to him.

"That James asked me out on a date and I accepted." I stated really fast.

"No that's not gonna happen." He said flatly walking around me into the living room. I rolled my eyes and walked over to him.

"Cole, it's not your decision. I'm going out with James. I like him." I told him seriously.

"I know you think you do AJ, the Ford brothers have that effect on girls. I just don't wanna see you get used by someone just so he can get back at me." He explained sighing as I bit down on my lip thinking about what I told James earlier.

"Okay it's not about you, Cole. James told me that himself. Besides you know me I don't take bull from anybody." I told him smirking which made him laugh.

"True. I remember in the 6th grade some guy was hitting on you figuratively and when he didn't take no for an answer you literally starting hitting on him." He remembered smiling.

"Yep. Mama didn't raise no fool." I stated making Cole laugh and I laughed along with him.

"So everything's good out here?" Starr asked walking out of the bedroom carrying who I assumed was my new favorite toddler in her arms. Cole and I glanced at each other.

"Yep." We both stated before Cole walked over to Starr and took Hope out of her arms.

"Hope, I would like you to meet someone very special to me. This is daddy's best friend besides your mommy, AJ." Cole told Hope and I smiled at Hope.

"Hi Hope it's very nice to meet you. I've heard a lot about you." I told her and she looked at me and smiled.

"You are like the perfect mix of your mommy and daddy." I added before handed me Hope. I have held babies or toddlers before but it felt like I had a connection to this one that I didn't have to others and all I could do was look down at her while she was looking up at me.

"You know I'm not okay with you going out with James." I heard Cole state standing in front of me. I looked at up and sighed.

"But you're my best friend and I don't want to fight with you about it." He finished and I smiled.

"That means a lot to me." I told him before I kissed his cheek.

"Okay let's stop yapping and lets start eating. I'm starving." Starr said as she headed straight for the pizza. Cole and I both laughed before I handed Hope back to Cole who put her in her highchair and walked over to Starr.

"So everything's good between you guys?" Starr asked and I nodded.

"Good." She stated smiling before she handed me a piece of pizza.

"And everything's good between us too, right?" I asked her and she nodded while getting herself a piece of pizza.

"Good." I stated and we both laughed.

"I thought you said lets stop yapping and here you guys are still yapping." Cole said pushing past both of us and grabbing his own piece of pizza. We both rolled our eyes.

"What can I say I like your best friend." Starr stated as she finished her pizza and I smiled.

"And I like your girlfriend." I stated as I finished my piece of pizza and Starr smiled. Cole glanced between me and Starr.

"Well I'm glad you guys are getting along." He stated wrapping each one of his arms around our shoulders and pulled us into a hug.

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	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4 : I'm Thinking Two Is Better Than One.**

_Disclaimer : I own nothing but the idea & Avery Thompson. OLTL is owned by Agnes Nixon._

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**Avery's Point Of View**

"I have nothing to wear!" I exclaimed going through my clothes. I sighed loudly as I plopped down on my bed.

"Come on, Avery you'll look beautiful in anything." Marty said coming in to my room as I sat up.

"You're just saying that because you love me." I replied and Marty smiled.

"I do love you but you're also very beautiful and that's a fact." She reassured me and I laughed.

"I just want tonight to go well because I really like James." I told her and she smirked smiling.

"I can tell. Your face lights up every time you talk about him." She replied and I tucked a piece of hair behind my ear as I smiled to myself.

"Am I interrupting?" I heard so I looked up and saw Hannah standing in my doorway.

"Nope. I'm actually glad you're here. You can help me pick something out to wear." I told her getting off of my bed and walking back over to my closet.

"That's right you're going out with James tonight." Hannah stated walking over to me and I nodded.

"Yep." I replied going back over my clothes.

"What about this?" Hannah asked holding a taupe sleeveless silk top out towards me.

"I actually really like that and I know just what else to wear with it." I answered happily and Hannah smiled.

"Well I see that your in good hands so I'm gonna go downstairs and start mine and Hannah's dinner." Marty stated as she walked out of my room.

"So you really like James?" Hannah asked me as I pulled out the jeans and shoes that I'm gonna wear and laying them out on my bed.

"Yea, I really like him." I stated smiling to her.

"What about you anyone special in your life?" I asked her ignoring what I saw yesterday.

"Nope. I'm just trying to get better before I start worrying about dating or boys." She replied and I nodded.

"You're time will come. I promise." I told her and she nodded smiling.

"Okay well I'll get out of your hair so you can get ready for your date." Hannah said as she smiled at me one more time before she walked out of my room. I took a deep breath and looked at my reflection in the mirror. _I wonder if James' as nervous as I am. _I wondered to myself before I turned away from the mirror and started getting ready.

**James' Point Of View**

_Why am I nervous? I've been on dates before._ I wondered to myself as I put my shirt on. _But there's just something different about AJ that I haven't seen in any other girl even Starr. _I said to myself before I looked at the clock on the stand next to my bed and saw that it said 6:30. _Okay good I still have like 15 minutes minutes before I have to leave. _I thought to myself as I walked out of my room and into the main room.

"So you ready for you date?" Bobby asked as I sat on the stool closest to me.

"As ready as I can be." I stated putting on my shoes. I took a deep breath and noticed Bobby watching me.

"What?" I asked him and he smiled.

"I've never seen you nervous. Especially over a girl." He answered and I shrugged.

"I don't know there's just something different about AJ. Something special." I told him and he nodded.

"Yes there is." He agreed then the was a knock on the door. I walked over to the door and opened it to see Cole standing there.

"I need to talk you." He stated flatly before he walked into the apartment.

"Come on in." I said rolling my eyes as Bobby walked over and stood next to me.

"I'm not okay with you going out AJ but I want her to be happy and for whatever reason going on this date with you." He explained and I smirked.

"What's your point Cole?" Bobby asked and Cole walked closer to me and stood face to face with me.

"If you hurt AJ. I'll hurt you." He stated and I inhaled slowly.

"I'm not gonna hurt her, Cole." I replied getting upset that he would just assumed that I was gonna hurt AJ. Cole stood there for a minute before he walked past me and Bobby and out the door. I groaned loudly and Bobby turned his head to face me.

"Don't worry about him. Tonight's not about Cole it's about you and AJ." He reassured me and I nodded.

"You're right." I agreed as I looked at the clock on the microwave and saw that it said 6:55. _Crap. _I thought to myself as hurried out of the door.

"Good luck!" I heard Bobby shout as I pressed the down button to the elevator repeatedly.

**Avery's Point Of View**

_7:05. _I thought to myself. I brought my head into my hands.

"It's only been 5 minutes. He'll be here." Marty said coming into the living room and sitting down on the couch next to me. I looked up from my hands but before I could say anything I heard the doorbell.

"I'll get it." Marty told me before moving from her spot on the couch and went over to the door. As she opened it I saw James standing in the doorway and smiled to myself.

"Hi Dr. Saybrooke." James greeted her coming into better view as he walked completely into the house. I couldn't take my eyes off of him and even though he was just wearing a t-shirt and jeans he looked amazing. I smiled shyly as James put his focus on me with a big smile.

"Wow. You look great." He stated as he walked closer to me.

"You don't look so bad yourself." I replied smiling making him laugh.

"So you kids have fun just not to much fun." Marty said from behind James. I looked over at her as I widened my eyes making her smile and James laugh harder.

"Don't worry, Dr. Saybrooke. AJ's in good hands." James replied as he turned around to face her as I smiled at him. I moved away from James and headed towards the coat closet over by front door.

"Oh it wasn't her I was worried about." She stated and I smacked her on the arm as I put on my coat and grabbed my purse. She laughed as I walked back over to a smiling James and grabbed his hand.

"Okay we're gonna leave now." I said pulling James along as I headed towards the door before we made it to the door Marty stepped in front of me.

"Seriously though, AJ have fun. You need it." She replied and I smiled at her before I pulled her into a hug.

"She will. I will make sure of it." James reassured her as we released the hug. I looked over at him and smiled making him smile. I looked back at Marty one last time smiling before we left the house and my date with James started.

xxxx

"You may be the only person I know that actually likes to eat dessert before they eat dinner." James stated laughing as we walked into Rodi's.

"Oh come on you can't say that isn't like the best thing ever. Can you?" I asked him with smiling and he nodded.

"No I can't." He answered and I clapped my hands excitedly making him laugh.

"Just remember.." I stared turning my body towards his so that there's not very much room in between us.

"That going straight to dessert before dinner, applies to all kinds of dessert." I finished as I let my finger move down his chest seductively before I looked up at him biting down on my lip and he raised an eye brow.

"Oh really?" He asked softly and I nodded my head suggestively. I watched as he started leaning his head down towards me so I closed my eyes and waited for his lips to meet mine. Before our lips could meet I heard someone clear their throat from behind us and I mentally kicked myself for not taking the chance when it was there to just kiss James. I turned around to face the person who interrupted a very close moment between myself and James and I saw Cole standing there with Starr at his side.

"Cole." I stated shocked and I could feel James tense up next to me.

"Hey, AJ. James." He said even though I could tell it was hard for him to acknowledge James. I rolled my eyes and looked over at Starr who was uncomfortably looking at the floor and I couldn't blame her.

"So what are you guys doing here?" I asked her and she looked up at me and smiled for my breaking the tension.

"Oh we just came to get something to eat. We haven't been out in forever it seems like." She answered and I smiled at her understandingly. We all just stood there for what seemed like forever in an awkward silence. I glanced at James who was just staring at Cole and then I glanced at Cole who was doing the same thing. _Too much testosterone in this room right now. _I thought to myself rolling my eyes.

"Okay well, we're gonna go get a table." I stated breaking the unbearable silence and I saw the relief in Starr's face who I could tell was thinking the same thing as me. I grabbed James hand and pulled him towards a table diagonal from the jukebox.

"Is that how it's gonna be every time you guys are in a room together?" I asked as we sat across from each other and James shrugged.

"What can I say? We don't like each other." He answered and I nodded my head.

"You are aware that if you date me that you will have to see Cole, right?" I replied and he smiled.

"What makes you think that this will lead to another date?" He countered and I laughed shifting forward in my chair.

"Well it looked like you were into me not to long ago." I answered before I winked and he laughed smiling. I put my hand out on the table and James put his hand in mine and intertwined our fingers. I felt his fingers brush against the front of my hand and I smiled tucking a piece of hair behind my ear shyly. When I looked back I noticed Cole staring at us.

"Okay I know Cole can be overprotective but I feel like there's something else going on here. Is there?" I asked him and I saw his smile fall and that told me that there was something else going on.

"He came over to my apartment before I picked you up and basically warned to not hurt you or he would hurt me." He explained and I rolled my eyes extracting my hand from James'. I looked over James' shoulder and back at Cole who I realized was alone at his table. I refocused my attention on James as the waitress came up to our table.

"What can I get you two?" She asked us and I thought for a minute.

"I'll have a double cheeseburger, fries and a large Mountain Dew." James ordered and I smiled at him.

"and I'll have a bacon cheeseburger with fires and a medium Dr. Pepper." I ordered and watched the waitress as she wrote down our orders before walking away.

"Okay well since we've finally ordered I have to pee." James stated pushing his car backwards. I laughed standing up as well.

"While you're doing that I'm gonna go have a little talk with my best friend." I told him smiling as I walked around the table and stood right beside him.

"I mean this isn't the first time he's tried to scare off one of my dates and I can promise you it won't be the last." I continued and he smirked.

"So you're already planning on dating other guys. Ouch." He questioned smiling pulling me closer to him and I smiled.

"Well, what makes you think that this will lead to another date?" I countered quoting him which made his smile grow.

"This isn't over." He stated and I nodded my head smiling.

"Unless I find a way hotter guy while your in the bathroom." I replied and he laughed shaking his head as he walked around me and towards the bathroom. I smiled as I watched James turn around and glance at me before reaching the bathroom door. I walked over to Cole's table and sat in the chair across from him that was current vacated.

"Enjoyed you date?" He choked out and I stifled a laughed.

"No thanks to you." I answered coldly and he raised on of his eyebrows curiously.

"James told me that you went over to his apartment and warned him not to hurt otherwise you would hurt him." I elaborated and Cole nodded his head making me roll my eyes.

"Look, I love you for caring but I'm a big girl. I can take care of myself." I told him and he smiled.

"I know. I just don't want James or any other guy hurt you because you've already been hurt so much." He explained. I reached across the table and grabbed his hand.

"I love you so much for wanting to protect me but if I don't take a chance on a guy then how will I find a love like yours and Starr's? That's all I want. Only my version." I added and he smiled squeezing my hand.

"So where's Starr?" I asked changing the subject. I watched as Cole pointed behind him at the ladies room and I nodded my head understandingly.

**James' Point Of View**

I walked out of the bathroom and noticed Starr coming out of the ladies room.

"Hey James, how is your date going?" I heard her ask and I smiled at her.

"Really good. AJ's an amazing girl." I answered and she nodded.

"I agree and I'm really happy that you two found each other." She replied then an uncomfortable silence fell upon us and we were both looking around the room. I glanced through the room for my date and noticed that she was sitting at Cole's table talking to him.

"I have a problem." I said breaking the silence as I turned my attention back to Starr.

"What is it?" She asked concerned.

"I don't know if I wanna continue this date or not." I elaborated and she raised one of her eyebrows.

"Why not? You said you were having a really good time." She countered and I sighed leaning against the wall that separated the bathrooms and the rest of the restaurant.

"I don't wanna lead AJ on if I still have feelings for you." I answered and she looked shocked.

"James, we both agreed that we would be better off as friends." Starr replied and I nodded my head.

"I know and believe me I know you love Cole. I just don't wanna hurt AJ because I might still have feelings for you." I told her not meeting her eyes but I heard her sigh.

"James we shouldn't be talking about this. Not here. Not when your on a date with another girl." She said but I grabbed her arm as she walked past me.

"I have a way to figure it out real quick and then we'll never talk about it again." I explained to her and she raised an eyebrow as I let go of her arm.

"How?" She asked intrigued.

"A test." I stated and she shrugged.

"Okay. What kind of te-" I stopped her mid sentence by pulling her into a kiss.

**Avery's Point Of View**

_What could be taking James so long? _I asked myself as I started to get worried that something was wrong. I glanced at my best friend and noticed that he was equally concerned about Starr.

"I'm gonna run to the ladies room before James gets back." I stated aloud making Cole look at me weirdly.

"You know to fix myself up a little bit." I continued and he laughed.

"I don't know why you would. You're already really beautiful." He replied and I smiled at him.

"And you're not biased at all." I stated and he shook his head jokingly making me laugh. I pushed my chair backwards and stood up walking over towards the ladies room. Right as I got to the wall the divided the bathrooms and the rest of the restaurant I saw my date in a lip lock with my best friend's girlfriend.

"Oh my god." I whispered softly.

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	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5 : You Take Your Heart & Walk Away.**

_Disclaimer : I own nothing but the idea & Avery Thompson. OLTL is owned by Agnes Nixon._

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**Avery's Point Of View**

I just watched as James practically made out with Starr. _I can not believe this. _I thought to myself as I backed away and turned for the door. _I just need to get out of here._ I thought as I continued the statements in my head. I started to walk faster to get the door when I was stopped by Cole.

"AJ, where are you going?" I heard him ask from behind me and I turned around to face him.

"Hey, what's wrong?" He asked before I could answer his first question. _How do I answer that? _I asked myself thinking of a good excuse so I could get out of here faster.

"Nothing. I just think I ate something bad earlier so I'm gonna head home." I answered him. _Really that's the best you could come up with. _I thought mentally kicking myself as I walked over to my table and grabbing my purse as well as my coat.

"But you were fine a couple minutes ago." He replied. _Duh that was before I saw my date and your girlfriend in a lip lock. _I thought to myself.

"It hit me all at once when I was almost to the bathroom." I explained to him putting my coat on and he nodded.

"Oh, well do you want me to take you?" He asked me concerned and I shook my head.

"No that's okay. I'm just gonna walk maybe the fresh air will help." I told him and he nodded before he pulled me into a hug.

"I'll call you tomorrow." He whispered in my ear and I nodded my head before releasing the hug and walking out of Rodi's.

**James' Point Of View**

As I pulled out of the kiss I looked at Starr's face and saw that she was completely shocked.

"Why did you just do that?" She asked me and I removed my hands from her face.

"I told you I had a test to see if I still had feelings for you or not." I reiterated to her and she just shook her head.

"You could have warned me." She stated and I nodded.

"I know I'm sorry. It just seemed like it worked better if I didn't tell you." I explained to her.

"What did that little test result in?" She asked and I smiled at her.

"I didn't feel anything. Don't get me wrong your a great kisser it's just last time I felt sparks and everything but this time all I could think about was AJ." I answered her and she smiled at me.

"So you really like her?" She asked and I nodded my head.

"Yea I do. I mean she's beautiful, funny, smart, she has the most beautiful smile and those eyes." I rambled on and Starr laughed making me look at her embarrassed.

"I'm really happy that you found someone and that we can be friends." She replied and I smiled at her.

"Me too. And let's just keep what happened here between the two of us." I told her and she nodded her head.

"Agreed. Now let's get back to our dates before they come looking for us." She said and I agreed as we turned and walked back into the main part of the restaurant. I looked at the table I was sharing with AJ but I only saw that the waitress had brought our food but there was no AJ. _She didn't go to the bathroom. I would've seen her. Where could she be? _I asked myself scanning the room to see if I could find her but no such luck.

"Hey, where's AJ?" I asked Cole as me and Starr reached their table.

"She left. She wasn't feeling well." He answered and I nodded my head. I walked away from their table and sat done at my table alone and started to eat my food. The whole time I couldn't help but think about AJ. _I wonder if she's okay._ I thought to myself. After a couple of minutes I couldn't take it anymore and I put money down on the table for our food and left Rodi's.

**Avery's Point Of View**

After about an hour of walking I finally got back to Marty's house and I was about to walk in the door before I stopped myself. _How could I have been so stupid? _I asked myself as I felt tears start welling up in my eyes. The whole way home I didn't let any tears fall but now that I'm here I couldn't help but them out. After a couple of minutes of crying on the porch I whipped away the stray tears and walked in the door.

"AJ?" I heard Marty ask from the kitchen.

"Yea it's me." I shouted before I saw her appear in the doorway with a slight smile on her face.

"How'd it go?" She asked and I shrugged.

"It was fine." I stated blankly and I saw her slight smiled turn into a concerned look. I watched her as she came closer to me and I shook my head signally her I didn't want to talk about it making her stop in her tracks.

"Well we're making cookies if you wanna help." She offered and I smiled at her.

"I would love to. Just let me go change." I told her before heading upstairs to my room.

15 minutes later I came downstairs after changing into a pair of yoga pants, my Hollywood shirt I got the first time Cole and I went to Los Angeles and tossing my hair up into a messy bun. I was about halfway through the living room when I heard the doorbell ring.

"I'll get it." I shouted into the kitchen to Hannah and Marty as I went over to the door and opened it seeing James in the doorway. We stood there for a minute just looking at each other neither one of us knowing what to say.

"What are you doing here?" I asked him coldly crossing my arms and I saw his expression change.

"What happened? I thought we were having a good time and then I get back from the bathroom and you were gone." He replied looking me up and down. I walked out onto the porch and closed the door.

"Look..okay, I know when I'm not wanted." I stated and I saw him scrunch his eyes together confused.

"Not wanted? AJ what are you talking about? I thought you had food poisoning or something at least that's what Cole told me." He said looking down at the ground growing more and more confused.

"Well I couldn't tell Cole what really happened." I replied looking down at the ground but I could feel James' eyes on me.

"Okay then what really happened?" He asked and I slowly looked up from the ground.

"Well it seems like I wasn't the only one who had your attention tonight." I stated as I felt the anger start to boil back up inside me.

"What are you talking abo- wait did you.." He stopped mid sentence and I nodded my head knowing what he was about to ask me.

"I saw you. And Starr." I finished for him and I saw guilt wash over his face.

"AJ, I can expl-" He started but I held my hand up to stop him.

"I get it. No explanation needed." I replied and he shook his head vigorously.

"No you don't under-" He started again but I again stopped him.

"I do actually. I was warned that you had a thing for Starr and I chose to ignore that fact cause I actually thought that you asked me out because you liked me. At least that's what you said." I said finishing his sentence for him.

"I do like you and that is why I asked you out. No other reason." He stated coming towards me like he was pleading me to listen to him and I shook my head.

"If that were true you wouldn't have kissed Starr on our date." I countered backing away from him even though there wasn't a lot of room between me, him and the door.

"Just to be clear. I'm not gonna be used to make Starr jealous or whatever other reason the whole act was for." I told him and he sighed running his hand through his hair.

"I wasn't acting. I really do like you and I want to get to know you." I replied becoming impatient that I wasn't listening to him and I shook my head again. _If I shake my head anymore I'm gonna get whiplash. _I told myself.

"Look I don't wanna talk about this anymore. I'll see you around, James." I said to him. As I turned around to walk back into the house I felt him grab my arm. I slowly turned back around and looked him in the eyes. _He even makes sad look hot. _ I thought to myself before slightly shaking my head. I looked down at the ground quickly because I knew that if I looked into his eyes again I would cave and I've prided myself on being strong.

"Goodbye James." I told him softly before I removed my arm from his grip and quickly re-entered Marty's house. As I closed the door I sighed sadly and leaned against it.

"Are you okay?" I was jolted back to reality by Hannah's voice. I looked over to the kitchen doorway and I nodded.

"Yea I'm fine." I answered before I started making my way towards her.

"So how are the cookies coming?" I asked her and she handed me the one she had in her hand. I took a bite and smiled.

"Oh my god. These are awesome." I complimented her and she smiled.

"Thanks." She replied as we got to the kitchen.

"Glad to see that you two could join me." Marty joked and I stuck out my tongue.

"Who was at that door?" She asked and I shrugged.

"Somebody selling something." I mumbled and she raised an eyebrow at me but decided not to push it. I walked over and stood by Hannah after I washed my hands.

"So how can I help?" I asked before we started making more cookies.

**James' Point Of View**

_This is not how I thought tonight was gonna end. _I thought to myself before I opened the door to my and Bobby's apartment. I saw Bobby sitting on the couch drinking a beer.

"How'd it go?" He asked and I groaned as I sulked over to the couch and plopped down beside him.

"Not well?" He asked chuckling and I just looked at him.

"I did something very stupid tonight." I stated and he looked over at me.

"How stupid are we talking?" He asked switching his position so he was facing me.

"I kissed Starr." I answered flatly.

"On your date?" He asked and I nodded slowly. I heard Bobby groan and stand up from the couch.

"Don't even. I know what you're gonna say." I told him as I stood up from the couch.

"Why would you kiss Starr when you were on a date with AJ?" He asked and I sighed running my hands through my hair.

"I wanted to see if I still had feelings for Starr because I didn't want to lead AJ on if I did." I explained to him and he shrugged.

"How did that turn out for you?" He countered and I ran my hand over my face.

"Fine we I was kissing her all I could do was think of AJ." I answered him and he started to smile at me.

"Until.." I started slowly looking at him and he raised an eyebrow at me.

"I just found that AJ saw me kiss Starr and now she doesn't want anything to do with me." I finished and I felt Bobby put a hand on my shoulder.

"I'm sorry, James." He told me and I nodded. I sighed one more time before I made my way to my room and shut the door. I paced around my room for a minute before I pulled my phone and dialed AJ's number. _Hey sorry I missed you. If you'll leave a message I'll get back to you as soon as possible. Beep. _I hung up the phone and threw it at the wall.

"Hey!" I head Bobby yell. I ignored him and sighed before plopping down on my bed. _Man what is it about this girl that I can't just forget about her._ I groaned loudly as I ran my hands over my face.

**Avery's Point Of View**

After 2 hours of making and eating cookies I made my way up to my room and laid down on my bed grabbing my purse up off of the floor. I dug around around in it until I found my phone and noticed that James called. _Why am I so broken up about this guy I just met? _I asked myself as I started going back over the night's events.

"We were having a great time." I told myself looking at the pile of clothes that I was wearing earlier.

"Why did he have to kiss Starr?" I asked myself sighing as I tossed my purse back on the floor. I got up off of my bed before I made my way over to the door and flipping off my light switch and climbed under the covers. _Just forget about James. He's probably already forgot about you. _I tried to tell myself but all I could do was think about how sad he looked earlier when I shut the door in his face. I shook the thoughts out of my head before I closed my eyes and drifting off into sleep.

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	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6 : All I Waited For, Was A Chance To Make You Understand.**

_Disclaimer : I own nothing but the idea & Avery Thompson. OLTL is owned by Agnes Nixon._

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**Avery's Point Of View**

I walked into my room breathing heavy with a water bottle and I pulled my earphones out of my ears and tossed my iPod on my bed. It has been 2 weeks since my date disaster with James. I have been doing my best just to forget about him and the whole night but it's hard to forget about him since I'm seeing him like everywhere I go and everyone keeps asking me what happened on our date. I told myself that I wasn't gonna tell anyone what happened especially not Cole because I knew he would freak out and I knew it would just cause unnecessary drama. I walked over to my nightstand and picked up up my phone seeing that I had a missed call from Cole. I rolled my eyes knowing he was calling to check up on me. Which he's been doing every couple of hours for the last 2 weeks and it was beyond annoying now. I gathered the clothes I planned on wearing tonight and headed to the bathroom to take a shower.

20 minutes later I walked into my room all showered and fresh and I grabbed my phone before sitting down on my bed. I was about to call Cole back when I heard someone knock on my door. I got up from my bed and walked over to the door when I opened the door I saw Starr and Langston standing on the other side.

"What are you guys doing here?" I asked confused. I moved away from the doorway and watched them walk into my room.

"We came to drop off Hope with Marty. Why aren't you dressed?" Starr replied and I sighed walking over to my bed and sitting down.

"I'm not going." I stated flatly. I watched as Starr and Langston gave each a look before walking over to my bed and sitting on both sides of me.

"Why not? Cole told me Lifehouse was your favorite band." Starr said and I looked down at my hands.

"They are. I just was planning on a night at home tonight." I explained to her.

"Okay. You haven't been out of this house in 2 weeks. All you do is go to school and come back here and occasionally you go over to Cole and Starr's apartment. You need to get out and have some fun." Langston said getting into the conversation.

"What happened on your date?" Starr asked before I could reply to Langston. I looked up from my hands.

"You don't know?" I asked her and she shook her head.

"He didn't you?" I continued thinking James would've told her.

"Who? Cole?" She replied and I shook my head.

"No. James." I answered and she raised an eyebrow.

"No. Why would he?" She asked and I ran a hand over my face.

"I saw you guys." I explained and the look on her face went from confused to shocked.

"Wait. She saw you guys what?" Langston asked her best friend. Starr looked down at her hands shameful.

"James kissed me when he was on his date with AJ." Starr answered and Langston's eyes went big.

"What?" She asked shocked before looking at me and I just nodded my head to confirm.

"Is that why you've been acting weird around me ever since then?" She asked and I nodded.

"I just didn't know how to handle it." I told her and she smiled at me.

"It wasn't what it looked like." She stated and I scoffed.

"Really? So my date didn't have his tongue down your throat?" I asked sarcastically.

"Well yes. But his intentions weren't what you think." She explained and I raised an eyebrow at her.

"He wanted to make sure he didn't have feelings for me because if he did he didn't want to lead you on." She continued.

"And what did that little experiment conclude?" I asked her and I saw a smile form on her face.

"When he kissed me all he could see was you and he felt horrible about it afterwords." She replied and I failed to prevent the smile that graced my face.

"Well that does make me feel a little better but still it was messed up of him to do that." I told her and she nodded her head.

"I agree with you and I told him that." She stated and I gave her a small smile.

"Well why don't you come with us tonight and you can talk to him." Langston suggested and I shook my head.

"No. I don't have anything I wanna say to him. He still hurt me." I replied and I saw disappointment all over her face.

"You should still talk to him get his side of the story and maybe give him another chance. I mean you guys look so cute together and I can tell you really like him otherwise you wouldn't be this upset. I also know that he really likes you too." Starr said and bit down on my lip.

"Okay even if I were to consider giving James another chance, I've been practically running away him for 2 weeks. Why would he still wanna talk to me? I've been a bitch to him ever since that night and I haven't given him a chance to explain himself." I said putting my head in my hands.

"Well you never know unless you get dressed and come out tonight." Langston stated and I raised my head and looked at her.

"She's right." Starr replied and I contemplated it for a minute before sighing.

"Okay. Let me get ready and I'll meet you guys there." I told before I got up off of my bed and went over to my closet.

**James' Point Of View**

I looked at myself one last time in the mirror before I walked out of my room and into the living room where Bobby was sitting on the couch.

"Are you coming tonight?" I asked him as I walked over to the couch and say down beside him.

"Yea but I probably won't stay very long." He replied and I nodded my head.

"Have you talked to AJ yet?" He asked me and I shook my head.

"No but tonight I will. She loves Lifehouse so I'm hoping she'll be there tonight." I answered and he patted my shoulder.

"Good luck." He stated and I nodded at him before he went into his room and shut the door. I took a deep breath before I grabbed my jacket and headed to Ultraviolet.

**Avery's Point Of View**

I walked into Ultraviolet with Langston and Starr on both sides of me. It took like 30 minutes to get ready with the help of Langston and Starr. I curled my hair slightly so it's curly just not to curly. I'm wearing a navy blue racer back tank top with my favorite pair of seven jeans and my black ankle boots. I looked around and saw that Ultraviolet was filling up fast and that it would take me forever to try and find James so I decided just to look for him in a little while.

"Look there's Cole." Starr stated guiding me and Langston over to the table where Cole was sitting. I saw his face light up when he saw Starr and he pulled her into a hug as soon as she got close enough.

"Glad you decided to come out, tonight." He told me and I smiled at him.

"Since when have you known me to miss a Lifehouse concert?" I asked him and he smiled at me.

"Ladies and gentlemen. Lifehouse." I watched as the lights go down.

"Whooo!" I shouted as I clapped. I looked over and saw Langston, Starr, and Cole smiling at me.

"_All night staring at the ceiling  
counting for minutes I've been feeling this way  
So far away and so alone_

_But you know it's alright  
I came to my senses  
Letting go of my defenses  
There's no way I'm giving up this time  
Yeah, you know I'm right here  
I'm not losing you this time_

I moved my gaze from the stage and started looking around the crowd of people looking for James.

_And I'm all in, nothing left to hide  
I've fallen harder than a landslide  
I spent a week away from you last night  
And now I'm calling, calling out your name  
Even if I lose the game, I'm all in  
I'm all in tonight, yeah I'm all in, I'm all in for life_

I couldn't find him until I looked over to the door and saw James walk through the door.

**James' Point Of View**

As soon as I walked trough the door of Ultraviolet I found my eyes looking around the room for AJ. I couldn't find her until I looked over to the left side of the stage and I saw sitting with Cole, Starr, & Langston.

_There's no taking back  
__what we've got's too strong,  
we've had each other's back for too long  
There's no breaking up this time  
And you know it's okay, I came to my senses  
Letting go of my defenses  
There's no way I'm giving up this time  
_

I couldn't help but notice how beautiful AJ looked tonight. I mean she always looks beautiful but tonight she looks exceptionally beautiful. I guess she could feel my eyes on her cause she turn around and our eyes met.

_And I'm all in, nothing left to hide  
I've fallen harder than a landslide  
I spent a week away from you last night  
And now I'm calling, calling out your name  
Even if I lose the game, I'm all in  
I'm all in tonight, yeah I'm all in, I'm all in for life  
_

**Avery's Point Of View**

I couldn't help but just stare at James as I listened to Lifehouse. I saw him signal me to come and talk to him. I looked over at Starr and Langston and saw them both with a raised eyebrow. I sighed and looked back over to where James was standing only to see that he wasn't there anymore.

_I want it, I want it, I want it  
I want it, I want it, I want it, yeah  
I want it, I want it, I want it, yeah  
_

I got up and made my way through the crowd and out the door. I looked both ways and saw that James was walking down the street. _I guess I took too long._ I sighed and started walking faster towards him.

"James!" I shouted and saw him turn around and and smile when he saw me.

_And I'm all in, calling out your name  
Even if I lose the game, I'm all in, I'm all in for life  
And I'm all in, nothing left to hide  
I've fallen harder than a landslide  
I spent a week away from you last night  
And now I'm calling, calling out your name  
Even if I lose the game, I'm all in  
I'm all in tonight, yeah I'm all in, I'm all in for life  
Yeah I'm all in, I'm all in for life"_

I tried to catch my breath as I caught up with James.

"Hey." He said and I smiled at him.

"Hey." I replied. We both fell quiet neither one of us knowing what to say.

"I'm sorry." I stated breaking the silence and he looked at me with a confused look on his face.

"Why are you sorry?" He asked me and I bit down on my lip.

"I didn't let you explain your side of the story." I explained and he shook his head.

"You're not the one who should apologize. I am so sorry for what happened." He told and I nodded sadly.

"I know." I replied looking down at the ground.

"No you don't. I haven't ever felt as bad as I have these past 2 weeks. Knowing that I hurt you just kills me." He explained stepping closer to me. I put my hand out to stop him from getting any closer.

"Then why did you kiss Starr? You didn't just kiss her even, you kissed her on our date. I mean were you having that bad of time?" I asked him and I watched him shake his head vigorously.

"No. I was having the best time with you, that's why I felt that I needed to make sure I didn't have any feelings for Starr." He continued and I stepped farther away from him.

"And you just had to kiss her to find out?" I asked him and I saw him run his hand over his face.

"I know it was stupid and I regret it more then you will ever know." He told me as he walked closer to me this time I didn't stop him.

"I believe you." I told him and I watched his eyes light up.

"So does this mean you'll give me another chance?" He asked and I bit down on my lip.

"I've been told that I should." I replied and he smiled.

"Oh ya. Does that mean that you will?" He asked and I pretended to contemplate it for a minute.

"Yes." I stated and he started to lean done to kiss me but I pulled away slightly.

"But you can't go around kissing other girls." I joked and he smiled at me as he nodded his head. We moved closer to each other as he leaned down and closed the gape in between us until our lips met. As the kiss intensified I wrapped my arms around his neck as he wrapped his arms around my waist. We just stood there wrapped in each others arms lost in the kiss.

**James' Point Of View**

As I pulled away from the kiss and my head was spinning.

"Wow." I stated and saw the big smile on AJ's face.

"Definitely Wow." She stated. Then another silence fell over us this one was comfortable and our eyes never left each other. I laced my fingers in between AJ's and just held her hand. I watched her smile and then start leaning forward again this time it was her initiating the kiss. As soon as our lips met once again the kiss became more passionate then the last and I removed my hand from hers and grabbed both sides of her face as she wrapped her arms around waist deepening the kiss. This time it was AJ that pulled away from the kiss and I heard her try to catch her breath.

"You okay?" I asked and I saw her nod her head slowly.

"I am more then okay." She answered looking up at me with a big smile.

"Me too." I replied making her smile even bigger. I moved my hands back down and laced my fingers in between hers.

"So do you wanna go back in? I don't want you to miss your favorite because of me." I asked her and she just smiled at me.

"I'm not missing anything because of you. I'm so happy that you came tonight." She answered him and he smiled at me.

"I'm glad I came to and I'm happy that you came too." I replied and she nodded smiling. I wrapped my arm around her shoulder as we turned back towards Ultraviolet.

**Avery's Point Of View**

I wrapped my arm around James' waist as we walked through the doors of Ultraviolet. As soon as we entered I looked over at the table that Cole, Langston, and Starr were sitting at and saw Starr and Cole kissing which made me smile. I looked over at Langston who was looking towards the bar where I noticed Ford was sitting and then I noticed her eyes fall on me and a smile immediately graced her faced. I watched as she reached over and tapped Starr making Starr pull out of the kiss that her and Cole were having and she pointed my way. I saw Starr look my way and also smile real big before giving me a thumbs up. I also didn't miss the look on Cole's face which was a mixture of confusion and happiness.

"Well two out of three's not bad." I heard James whisper in my ear and I turned to him and smile.

"Ya well we can't exactly say Cole isn't biased." I replied making him smile.

"I can't say that I blame him cause if I was your best friend I wouldn't want you around anyone like me either." He said winking making me laugh.

"Well Cole isn't gonna stand in my way. I wanna be with you and there's not anything anyone can do or say to change that." I told him smiling which made him smile really big before pulling me into another kiss.

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